The Federal Government has revived Nigeria’s digital postcode project nearly 20 years after it was conceived and has begun integrating it with the National Identification Number (NIN) to strengthen digital identity, improve address verification and enhance public service delivery.
The initiative follows the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) and the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) in Abuja.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, NIMC Director-General Abisoye Coker-Odusote said both agencies had already integrated postcode retrieval into the NIN platform, allowing Nigerians to verify their addresses and access digital postcodes through a single platform;
“Our teams have collaborated to integrate postcode retrieval into the NIN platform, so that Nigerians will soon be able to confirm their address and retrieve their postcode through one trusted platform” – Coker-Odusote
According to her, combining verified identities with verified addresses will strengthen digital identity, improve access to government services, financial products, healthcare, education, logistics and e-commerce, and also support better planning, transparency and service delivery.
Coker-Odusote also disclosed that NIPOST has been licensed as a front-end enrolment partner, enabling Nigerians to register for their National Identification Number at post offices nationwide.
She added that the collaboration would simplify address verification for financial institutions, government agencies and private businesses and support the digital public infrastructure of Nigeria through the integration of identity, payments and data exchange systems.
She said the newly enacted NIMC Act 2026, will strengthen the commission’s powers to combat identity fraud, with arrests to continue in collaboration with security agencies and prosecutions handled alongside the Federal Ministry of Justice.
NIPOST Postmaster-General Tola Odeyemi described the digital postcode initiative as a solution to Nigeria’s longstanding addressing challenges.
She said the system will assign every addressable structure in the country a unique, GIS-enabled and machine-readable location identifier, improving logistics, emergency response, planning and access to public services;
“What we’re building gives a unique GIS-enabled, machine-readable location identifier to every standing building in the Federal Republic of Nigeria” – Odeyemi
She revealed that although the digital postcode project was first conceived in 2006, it has now received full Federal Government funding for the first time under the current administration.
According to Odeyemi, integrating trusted identity with trusted location information will create a stronger foundation for digital inclusion and economic development, ensuring that every Nigerian and every location is captured within the digital ecosystem of the country.
